Tag Archives: Politics

Complaints, General T&T, Politics

No Integrity Commission, no action on Govt

2 Comments

By Andre Bagoo
May 26, 2009 – newsday.co.tt
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog

The Integrity Commission of Trinidad and TobagoWITH NO Integrity Commission in place, complaints made against several Government ministers cannot go forward, officials of the Integrity Commission have advised. Among the matters are complaints brought in relation to: Prime Minister Patrick Manning; Health Minister Jerry Narace; Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Teshiera and Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert.

And with amendments to the Integrity in Public Life Act still in the Senate, the possibility of some of the complaints having to be done again and under the more stringent conditions outlined in the proposed amendments has been raised.
Continue reading No Integrity Commission, no action on Govt →

General T&T, Politics

Presidential dictatorship/pappyshow in T&T

11 Comments

By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
May 16, 2009

President Professor George Maxwell RichardsThe recent domino-like collapse of the membership of the Integrity Commission brings to the fore the stark reality of the co-existence of dictatorship politics in the Office of the Prime Minister and the Office of the President of T&T.

The fact of the matter is that the decision by President Professor George Maxwell Richards to appoint Jeffery Mac Farlane as a member and co-chairman of the Integrity Commission suggests two things: either the President is totally incompetent in the highest decision-making process in the country or he has overtly exhibited the utmost “arrogance of power” in this regard or both.
Continue reading Presidential dictatorship/pappyshow in T&T →

General T&T, PNM, Politics, Religion

Father, forgive them not…

2 Comments

By Raffique Shah
Sunday, May 10th 2009

The Integrity Commission of Trinidad and Tobago“There is one trait in the character of a leader that above all things, really counts-being straight. No amount of ability, knowledge or cunning can ever make up for not being straight. Once those under him find out that a commander is absolutely straight in all his dealings with them, and free himself from the slightest trait of self-interest they will love him trust him, work for him, follow him-and should the occasion arise, die for him”

—Basilisk Talks on Leadership, extracted from the “little red book” of Sandhurst, Serve to Lead.
Continue reading Father, forgive them not… →

Food, General T&T, Health

Food and water before oil and gas

3 Comments

By Raffique Shah
Sunday, May 3rd 2009

The MarketTRINIDADIANS would swear that the world is gripped by “blight”, a toxic mix of negative forces or “spirit lashes” that have us reeling every-which-way. Those who believe in the biblical end-times would counter that God is angry with man, hence the confluence of wars, pestilence, human misery and harsh economic times. Whatever the reasons for the seemingly intractable problems that have engulfed the world, I choose to adopt calypsonian Blakie’s refrain, “Ah never see t’ing so yet!”
Continue reading Food and water before oil and gas →

5th Summit, Caribbean, CARICOM, International, Politics, Tourism

PM again boasts of Summit

7 Comments

By Sean Douglas
Thursday, April 30 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasPRIME Minister Patrick Manning said the Fifth Summit of the Americas is earning TT and Caricom more respect and foreign investment. Addressing the 20th anniversary celebration ceremony of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) on Tuesday, at the Diplomatic Centre, he boasted: “There can be no doubt about the gains to our country and the region from this undertaking. Tourist arrivals will increase and it will certainly be much easier to market our region as a single tourism destination.”
Continue reading PM again boasts of Summit →

5th Summit, Complaints, Letters

Life After the Summit

Fifth Summit of the AmericasTHE EDITOR: Well, the summit has come and gone. The naked emperor has worshipped at the altar of his own egoism. But at what cost? The next circus is going to be the reckoning of what costs are to be attributed to the summit and what costs are not. It’s all downhill from here. The naked emperor has shot his bolt. There are no more cards up his sleeve. Our monocrop, jazzed up plantation economy is well and truly busted. Health, education, local government services, social welfare and mek wuk employment are being severely cut back. Jobs are disappearing by the thousands and will continue to do so over the near term. Trillion dollar bonds are being floated to make up the budget deficit.
Continue reading Life After the Summit →

Finance, Politics

Recession

Harsh reality
FinanceCentral Bank Governor Ewart Williams has officially confirmed what everyone, except the Cabinet, had long known: the economy is in decline.
The starkest figure cited by Mr Williams when he released the Bank’s Monetary Policy Report last Thursday was related to unemployment. The unemployment rate has already moved from just over four percent last year to between six and seven percent in the first quarter of 2009. This means that the Government can no longer boast about having achieved zero unemployment in Trinidad and Tobago. But, as long as two years ago, economists such as Jawala Rambarran and Ronald Ramkissoon were warning that the unemployment figures were essentially illusory.

Central Bank gives banks a lending hand
Faced with stagnation and an inflation shadow, the Central Bank yesterday sliced off fifty basis points of its repo rate to eight percent, a move designed to get banks to reduce their interest rates and spur borrowing.
Continue reading Recession →

5th Summit, CARICOM, Finance, USA

Lack of a CARICOM Strategy at the Fifth Summit

1 Comment

By Stephen Kangal
April 24, 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasThe hosting of the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas was portrayed as a CARICOM initiative and, as usual, T&T bore the full costs involved.

I am very disturbed that T&T/CARICOM did not act collectively in an effective manner to maximize returns on T&T’s huge and staggering investment. The CARICOM meeting that was scheduled for Thursday 16 April was not held. No effort was made to concretize a CARICOM strategy at the Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government held in Belize prior to the Summit.
Continue reading Lack of a CARICOM Strategy at the Fifth Summit →

5th Summit, International, Politics

Press Briefing with Evo Morales at the 5th Summit of the Americas

Bolivian President Evo Morales at the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Bolivian President Evo Morales during a press briefing at the
5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

This interview has been transcribed from a translation during a press briefing featuring Bolivian President Evo Morales at the Fifth Summit of the Americas – April 18, 2009

PRESIDENT MORALES: Thank you my friends from the press. For those of you that don’t know me, I am Evo Morales Ayma, President of the nation of Bolivia. I would like to take this opportunity, first to thank you for your presence, and also to engage in a political and ideological debate that is taking place at the Summit of the Americas.
Continue reading Press Briefing with Evo Morales at the 5th Summit of the Americas →